Thursday, April 26, 2007
So are you sick of me blathering on and on about how great Black Sabbath was with Dio? No? Good, because you just might be after reading my monstrous new column, which appears just a couple days after my other Sabbath review appeared. In this piece, I go into really great detail, describing the show in Regina, analyzing both classic albums, and detailing the fascinating shuffle of members involving Sabbath, Rainbow, Ozzy, and Dio. Oh, and you absolutely must chack out the Profugus Mortis album, which I review in the sidebar. Amazing folk/goth/black metal album, with loads of violin. Really cool.
After weeks of rumours, the White Stripes have announced their huge Canadian tour for the summer...in addition to hitting Saskatoon (A concert! We got a concert! By a cool, popular band that isn't Canadian!), they'll be playing all ten provinces and all three territories, including stops in Whitehorse, Yellowknife, and Iqaluit. How cool is that? No other band has the guts to pull such a stunt, and my admiration for Jack and Meg went up a few pegs. I'll definitely try to go to the Canada Day show here, which will be at the swanky, comfy TCU Place. Their last two albums have only left me half-impressed, but if new single "Icky Thump" is any indication, that might change witht he new CD. It's their best single since "The Hardest Button to Button", a blend of bloozy hard rock and wonky guitar synth noodles. Actually, while listening to it, I kept thinking it would be awesome to have this song on Guitar Hero. Yeah, that game has ruined me.
Speaking of Guitar Hero, Andrew Unterberger has posted a fun deconstruction of Rush's "YYZ" on his excellent blog. So go take a looky, huh?
As if the Gathering wasn't likeable enough, they go and do the least pretentious thing I've seen a band do in a long while: model their own merchandise. As Mel Torme once said, I think that's the tops.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Things are finally picking up on the new review front, and I finally have the time to get a big entry in, so let's get on with it then, shall we? First up is my review of the brand-new debut album by Bloody Panda. When you tell a metal fan about this band, they're put off by the seemingly precious, indie rock name. When you tell an indie rock scenester about this band, they roll their eyes because it's doom metal. The fact is, though, Bloody Panda is as capable as bridging the two opposing factions as well as Boris and Sunnn O))) have in the recent past. They have enough quirky elements to appeal to the hipster crowd: female Japanese visual artist with no musical experience chanting in front of four imposing dudes wearing executioner's masks...seriously, that'll get your attention. That said, the band's brand of funeral doom is downright muscular, and the way the band brings together those vocal melodies and dirge-like arrangements makes for a spellbinding album, and Phereomone is one of my favourite metal discs of the year so far. So I urge you, whether you're an indie kid, a headbanger, or just someone who likes bold new music, to give this record a shot.
I've written about Black Sabbath and Ronnie James Dio so much over the past few months that it seems like I've been doing it forever. I wrote an extremely comprehensive column about the band which should be appearing soon, I reviewed their March concert for Decibel, I blogged about the show here, I've discussed the merits of Dio-led Sabbath on message boards, and lastly, I reviewed the new Dio Years compilation, which appeared yesterday. I was really disappointed when the rumoured box set of Heaven and Hell, Mob Rules, and Dehumanizer was reduced to just a paltry CD, but as it turns out, this is pretty much as good as a compilation can get. Not only do we get a bevy of classic tracks, but we're treated to three new songs that, unlike the huge majority of compilation "bonus" tracks, actually manage to hold up very well against the legendary songs. And quibble all you want, this collection is pretty near perfect. It's better to own the albums, but really, you can't go wrong with this, either.
I managed to hear two of 2007's most hotly anticipated metal albums yesterday. I went and bought In Sorte Diaboli, the first new album by Dimmu Borgir in nearly four years...the band's management had refused to send promo copies out to us writers, but I don't mind buying the retail version, because Dimmu is always best enjoyed as a full album experience, with the artwotk, liner notes, lyrics, and garish band photography. It's the music that is so enthralling, though...black metal purists always complain about how the band waters down its black metal sound, arguing whether or not they's black metal at all, but I just love the garishness, the unadulterated flamboyance of the band and their music. Few bands can match that level of musical audacity,and I really like how Dimmu is becoming gradually more accessible, as well as increasingly skilled at arrangements. The melodies here are especially strong, as is Shagrath's voice. Some find him grating, but I'd much rather listen to him than Dani from Cradle of Filth. I've always enjoyed metal that made itself seem larger than life, and In Sorte Diaboli is gloriously overblown. Oh, and their video for "The Serpentine Offering" is actually really well done.
The other metal biggie I heard is arguably the most anticipated American metal release of the year, Phantom Limb, by death-grind gods Pig Destroyer. Their 2004 album Terrifyer completely blew me away, but the new one trounces even that much-heralded disc. Better production (for a band with no bass, it sounds remarkably full), enough musical variety to make a 90 second song sound like an epic, and just some good, old fashioned, scorching extreme metal. Early on, the standout tracks for me are two of the slower ones, "Loathsome", and the wickedly groovy "Heathen Temple". Jesu had better look out, I think we have another metal album of the year contender!
Over the past nine or ten months, a small thread on the SOMB kept popping up, about a British sitcom called Peep Show, and how there was an internet campaign afoot to try to get it renewed for another season. Well, the new season did manage to get made, and last week's premiere appeared on YouTube, so I decided to watch it. It only turned out to be one of the funniest shows I have ever seen, and as it happened, I found out that allt he other previous episodes are also on YouTube, so I've been watching the entire series from the start. It's a simple enough formula, an Odd Couple rehash focusing on two roommates; Mark, a stodgy office worker, and Jez, a slacker and not very talented musician. The twist is, it's shown from the characters' points of view, and along with seeing what Mark and Jez see, we also hear their inner thoughts. That combination of interior monologues and exterior dialogue is the show's genius, as it opens up so many opportunities for some wickedly funny lines. Mark's neurotic thoughts are especially hilarious: "I've entered the abyss. I've bought a house in the abyss. My mail is being forwarded to the abyss." The two guys are likeable, but even better, they're also both despicable, and whatever narcissistic stunt they try to pull always ends in moments of extreme embarrassment for them, and gut-busting hilarity for us. It's crude and raunchy, but also extremely witty and oddly endearing, and I strongly urge you to give the series a go, starting with the first one.
While I'm plugging things, it turns out brudderinlaw Steve has ventured into the writin' game, and did a cool little piece about teaching classic movies to reluctant teenagers. Read it here. Man, I wish they taught us film studies when I was in high school. Oh, and he also wrote a good piece about God of War 2...I don't like battle-type videogames, but I found this one very fun to at least watch. the animation alone is astonishing.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
New review! Not only that, but a DVD review, more specifically my piece on Apocalyptica's recent concert DVD. As you probably know, these are the Finnish guys who are mostly known in North America as the string quartet that covered Metallica tunes in 1996...well, they've managed to build a steady career for themselves since then, and this DVD is an interesting one. I thought it would just be a fairly reserved concert with them doing their thing, butthey've really done a great job creating a stirring live show. Not only to they have stage props (four chairs shaped like coffins), but they also have a live drummer, which really livens things up. Still, seeing the guys headbang, sawing away at their cellos while seated was bizarre during the first half of the concert, but about midway through, the energy started to increase, and they started doing things that would mortify classical purists. I mean, they actually run around the stage with those big cellos, they do guitar god poses...it's nuts. You have to see it, so go read the review and watch the embedded YouTube clip. You'll be surprised.
Over at Static is my little feature piece on Taste of Chaos. Man, what a dismal concert that was. I've wasted enough energy writing about that night for the article, so if you're interested in seeing just how bad the bands were (I'll say it again, 30 Seconds to Mars is probably the worst band I have ever seen), I suggest you go take a little look.
On Monday I interviewed Cristina Scabbia for a feature piece I was asked to write for a Knoxville, TN paper, and came away thoroughly impresed with the singer. For the most famous woman in metal, Scabbia is remarkably friendly and unpretentious, just a real pleasure to talk to. I should have the piece done by the weekend, and if all goes according to plan, it should be in print and online a week or two after that.
When a fellow writer convinced me to give Muse's Absolution a listen back in 2003, I was quite impressed with the downloaded MP3s...here was a band clearly influenced by Radiohead, but unlike the increasingly pretentious band, Muse focused more on catchy songs, putting strong emphasis on guitar crunch to offset the Yorke-ian tenor of Matt Bellamy. "Time is Running Out" was extremely catchy, and "Stockholm Syndrome" ranks as one of the most killer guitar rock tracks of the decade, the highlights of an album whose only fault that it was a few songs too bloated. I kind of forgot about Muse in the years since, though, and aside from a quick listen to their single "Supermassive Black Hole" a year ago, I never got around to giving their new album Black Holes & Revelations any attention. Before leaving Edmonton last week, I stopped at the snazzy new south side HMV, and stumbled across both albums priced at two for 25 bucks. That was all the convincing I needed, and a week later, I'm not regretting the purchase one bit. Not only does Absolution still hold up, but Black Holes & Revelations is quite extraordinary, nive and multilayered musically, much more eclectic than the last record, but still with songs catchy enough to not let the eccentricity overwhelm everything. "Starlight" and Knights of Cydonia" are especially strong. So add that title to my ever-growing list of great 2006 albums I missed out on the first time around.
I can't stop listening to April March's "Chick Habit"...here's a cool Grindhouse-related video someone made for the tune. Turns out the song is a Serge Gainsbourg cover, translated into English.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
A week away, and look at the catching up I have to do. Tons of reviews to mention...well, not exatly tons, more like six. Decibel's site has been updated for the month, and in this month's issue is my biggest ever feature piece, written about Eyehategod, centering on an interview I did with vocalist Mike Williams back in February, who is a really nice guy. The tribute album For the Sick came out a short while ago and includes a bevy of talented bands paying homage to one of the most important American metal bands of the last two decades, and for the article I asked for responses from the bands about Eyehategod and why they chose to play the song they recorded, and I got a terrific number of answers. The website version of the article doesn't include the massive sidebar I compiled, and I have yet to get the new issue, but apparently it looks good.
Three other regular album reviews are up as well: there's the new Hacride album, which is awesome. There's the new one by the always-good Naglfar. And there's the debut EP by Iamthethorn, an impressive side project led by the vocalist for Seattle band Himsa.
Over on the PopMatters side of things, my review of the new disc by Alabama youngsters Maylene and the Sons of Disaster, who are dead set on putting their post-hardcore past behind them in favour of some good, old-fashioned Southern rock. It's a little inconsistent, but very enjoyable, sounding at times like Pantera, other times like Clutch. More straightforward than Every Time I Die, but in their case, that's a good thing.
Also appearing was my big review of that Dokken DVD, which was a total blast to write about. I had zero expectations, but it turned out to be a mighty fine DVD collection of some of the silliest videos of the 1980s, for some of the best songs of the 1980s. I've become a real Dokken apologist 20 years later...as I state in the review, they might have been plagued by poor band chemistry and albums that struggled for consistency, but I think their overall singles catalogue from 1983 to 1989 is stronger than that of Motley Crue's from the same time frame. Really.
I'm so busy these days that I simply have no time to see movies in theatres anymore, but yesterday was pretty much my only chance to see the ultracool Rodriguez/Tarantino double feature Grindhouse, so I went. If you know me, I've always been a bit of a fan of old B-movies and exploitation flicks, and the two filmmakers have a lot of fun with the idea, not only giving us two uproariously fun movies, but linking them with some hilarious trailers for non-existent movies (Eli Roth's Thanksgiving was especially brilliant) and those old movie rating cartoons, making for a riveting three hours. Rodriguez's Planet Terror is a cool zombie/gore flick, really focused on over the top violence, but with an actual engaging storyline, highlighted by Rose MacGowan's amputee go-go dancer Cherry Darling (who does Russ Meyer proud). I wound up preferring Tarantino's Death Proof, which has Kurt Russell terrorizing two groups of young ladies, climaxing in a car chase sequence that can only be described as unreal. Lots of typically snappy banter, cool music (the soundtrack is excellent, by the way...especially April March's "Chick Habit", which I can't get out of my head), and directing so taut, it's almost too good to resemble a cheesy 70s movie. It's not exactly doing gangbusters at the box office, but this really looks like something that will find an audience on DVD in six months. I'll be there to buy it, that's for sure.
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Quick little update before I take off for the holiday weekend...
Well, Taste of Chaos was sometimes mildly amusing and mostly dreadful. There are plenty of good emocore bands, but still, we need to do away with the fad, because I can't see how it can get any worse than the Used singing a new song with a chorus that goes, "Liar liar, pants on fire," and seeing a mascara wearing, 35 year-old Jordan Catalano play Rock Star, actuall skipping around the stage. The night wasn't a total waste, as Saosin and Chiodos had the best music, Senses Fail had the most entertaining frontman, and Aiden shoved so much hair metal shtick into their act that at the very least it wasn't dull. But egads, the co-headliners were such a colossal downer.
On to better and more interesting tunes, my review of the new album by Rwake has appeared. They're an Arkansas sludge band that's heavily derived from Eyehategod (which is never a bad thing), but tosses in different variations as well, from Southern rock, to melodic death metal, to space rock, to black metal. Visually, they're an interesting bunch onstage, with two lead vocalists, including a burly male growler and an emaciated, barefoot girl screamer who seems to spend her time sitting in front of the drum kit twiddling with effects. They're one of the better young extreme acts out there, so I suggest you give this one a whirl.
I got the finished version of Amber Asylum's lovely, haunting gothic-tinged neoclassical opus Still Point yesterday, and not only is the music still sounding great (it's perfect chill-out music), but the artwork is very snazzy. I'm becoming quite a fan of Profound Lore...
Be sure you watch this Japanese game show video. I laughed so hard I cried.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
I don't write hip hop reviews that often, but I couldn't resist writing up the new disc by Dälek. I've been a fan of the band for a few years now, and Abandoned Language is their best one yet. It's as dark and ominous-sounding as ever, but it's much more streamlined and minimal, with some incredible production and the usual poetic lyrics. Dälek's an act that needs a lot of time for their albums to sink in with me, and I spent nearly a month absorbing the thing, and as usual, it was worth the effort. It's one of the year's most rewarding albums, and is a big time contender for my year-end list. So by all means, check it out if you like music that refuses to be pigeonholed.
A year ago, I went to Taste of Chaos with low expectations, and wound up having a great time. Today, I go to Taste of Chaos 2007 with even lower expectations, and it's looking like it's going to be a long five or six hours. Last year's lineup was a whopping combination of current young stars, veteran acts, underrated bands, and boring sound-alikes, and the good far outweighed the bad. This year, though, it's abysmal, as the tour's organizers are scraping the bottom of the talent pool. The Used are one of the most boring popular rock bands on the planet, 30 Seconds From Mars is one of the most idiotic bands on the planet, and Aiden is, well, a walking joke. There are a few other bands on the bill (Saosin just might be the best band on the bill), but little to get excited about. But I was interested in seeing how this all unfolds, and it'll be interesting to see Jordan Catalano acting like a doofus...besides, it's not like I'll ever actually shell out the 55 bucks for a ticket or anything. I don't know if I'll post a big recap here tomorrow, as I'll be writing my review as soon as I get back, but watch for my piece for Static in the following days.
Monday, April 2, 2007
Well, that sure was a crazy weekend, but a fun one. After hearing about all the lineup hassles in town on Friday, I had to change my plans for Saturday and arrive at one venue early and stay there for the late show. I wanted to see Novillero at Amigos (they're such a great live band), but by the time they would have ended I probably wouldn't have gotten into the Refinery afterwards, so at about 9:15 I decided to make the sacrifice and walked over to the Refinery. There was no lineup yet, which was cool, but I was lucky, as the room was alreay 95% full.
The Refinery is a very cozy place, a converted parish hall of an old Anglican church that seats about 120, and it was a perfect spot for some singer-songwritery intimacy. The seats were comfy (a huge relief after spending seven hours on my feet the previous night), there was ample wine, cheese, and beer, and the acoustics were nice, so I settled in and waited for the highly anticipated set by Patrick Watson. Saskatchewan singer David J. Taylor was enjoyable, keeping things interesting with Rhodes piano, electric guitar, and digital loops, including an amusing little tune about stalking someone on MySpace. A pleasant, inoffensiive set. Interestingly enough, he's produced such good Saskatchewan bands as Sylvie, Ultimate Power Duo, and Despistado. Saskatoon's These Hands was next, and while the singer's two solo acoustic songs lacked confidence, things settled down decently enough when his full band came on, delivering some good indie pop. I was looking forward to hearing Calgary's The Cape May, as their MySpace songs have a cool dreampop/orch pop quality, but because of strict time constraints (changeovers were quick, and they were going to make sure Watson's set was on time), the singer and guitarist came on and did a stripped-down, semi-acoustic set. It was okay, but I wished we'd gotten the full band effect, because the tunes seemed to lack the kind of punch a fuller sound would give them.
The three hour wait was totally worth it, however, and it was clear that nearly everyone who arrived at 9 were there for Watson's set. There was clearly a considerable lineup outside, and when one of the few people left, their seat was immediatly claimed by a newcomer, glad to be in from out in the cold. There were some minor hassles with the vocal mic that took some ironing out, and it was quite funny to see a belligerent TV reporter from Toronto try to ask the frazzled sound guy if her camerman would have enough light, only to be brusquely brushed off. at 12:15, everything was fixed, and an absolutely incredible hour-long set began.
Seriously, Patrick Watson's set was the best Saskatoon concert I have seen since the Arcade Fire hit town eighteen months ago. It was an incredible combination of contrasting styles...you had the crooning of Rufus Wainright minus the pretension, the eclecticism of Akron/Family minus the confrontation, and the brilliant arrangements of Jon Brion but with more sense of simplicity, performed by a supremely talented four-piece band and driven by Watson's charm and humour. In a room this intimate, it was a revelation, the quartet sounding whisper-quiet one minute, and cacophonous the next. And they all kept themselves very busy: Watson tinkled on electric piano and harmonium and twiddled with various vocal effects; drummer Robbie Kuster flailed about with intensity, scraped the bottom of his drumsticks on the cymbal to make cool screeching sounds, played the saw, and did some weird Mike Patton-style beatboxing into a mic; bassist Mishka Stein played glockenspiel; and the amazing guitarist Simon Angell was very versatile, not to mention inventive, as when he blew up a balloon and squealed it into his pickup while using an effects pedal. And the relaxed atmospher made for some very funny and often poignant moments. At the end of one song, Kuster ran from his kit to the nearby bar to snag some wine. During "The Great Escape", Angell mad an hilarious reference to the now-famous Grey's Anatomy scene by imitating the sound of a surgical drill. Watson coaxed an audience member onstage to play along with a drum solo on a tiny little kid's drumkit. The band played "Man Under the Sea" a cappella while wandering the captivated room. Watson and the audience bantered back and forth, about such things as how great Amigos is (it is great), how eager to please Saskatonians are, and the ludicrously surreal instructions he received for his Juno Awards performance the following night. The whole performance was sublime, as what we'll remember the most are the songs, such as "Close to Paradise", "Daydreamer", "Weight of the World", "Bright Shiny Lights", "Mr. Tom", "Drifters", and "Luscious Life", among others. Watson got two raucous standing ovations, and needless to say, sold a pile of CDs. I picked one up, of course...Close to Paradise is a gorgeous, gorgeous album, and if I vote for the Polaris Prize this year, it's going in my #2 spot, guaranteed, right behind Junior Boys. Listening to it now, I have to smile, Saturday's performance was perfect in every way. Next time he plays here, it won't be in a venue so tiny, and it won't come close to that kind of atmosphere. It was a special night, what can I say?
So after such a transcendent set, there was no hope of topping it, but I wandered the block and a half to Amigos anyway, in hopes of catching Victoria's Jets Overhead. And luckily, they were just setting up as I walked in (no line-up at 1:15). They specialize in a blend of shoegazer/dreampop and boy-girl vocal harmonies, something i find very appealing, and while their music tends to play it safe (they should really crank up those vocals more, and get even more spaced-out with the guitars), the music is very pleasant and catchy. The songs have hooks, something not many indie rock bands are capable of, and like In-Flight safety, they bring an anthemic, Coldplay-meets-Doves quality to small clubs, which I always like. Anyway, they played to around 2:30 (Tragically Hip guitarist Rob Baker was right beside me, as it turned out), and their CD was ten bucks, so I snagged a copy. It's a good album...perhaps a bit overlong (an hour is stretching it when it comes to this music), but overall, I give it a good recommendation, there are few dull moments, if any.
No time to recuperate on Sunday, though, as on five hours' sleep, I had to proofread my week's reviews (gah!), finalize my interview questions, and conduct my 2:30 interview with Tony Kakko of Sonata Arctica. Which went great, by the way. He called right at 2:30 (love professionalism from musicians), and was very friendly and talkative, which should make for a good May column. By the time I got through everything, I was dead on my feet. I wound up watching the Juno awards because they were in saskatoon, and overall, they did a good job. Nelly Furtado was likeable, and the performances were all good, the highlights being Alexisonfire, Patrick Watson (of course!), and DJ Champion. What, Canada, no YouTube uploads?! Man, we're so far behind when it comes to internetty stuff.
Back to the usual bidness, I wrote a neat little feature piece on Blue Oyster Cult for Static, which went up recently. It's basically a review of their 1977 album Spectres and subsequent live album Some Enchanted Evening, both of which were given the deluxe reissue treatment recently. I've really been having fun digging into the old BOC discography over the past month...they were one band I didn't know enough about, and despite being a very inconsistent band over the years (I don't think they've ever released a flawless album), the great moments always outnumbered the dopey ones. Spectres is a cool album, one that doesn't get enough attention..."Godzilla" is just godly, "Golden Age of Leather" starts off stupid and gets more massive as it goes on, "Goin' Through the Motions" is perfect powerpop, and "I Love the Night" has to be one of the most underrated ballads of the 70s. The live album comes with a cool DVD filmed during the same tour, which allows us young'uns a glimpse of BOC in all their bombastic, laser-shottin' glory. Both albums are defintely worth picking up.
Phil Freeman is one of the better metal writers out there, and I've always respected his opinion on his blog and over on ILM, so it was a very nice surprise to read some very kind words about my Manowar piece over on his page. I am humbled.
So what's left to blab about? The Habs and Leafs are on a collision course for a climactic season-ending battle on Saturday, but I'd rather see Toronto lose their two games this week. So go Habs, go Flyers, and go Islanders. Egads, it's going to be stressful.
John Sakamoto's Anti-Hit List has turned me onto a great little song by a DJ called Dan Le Sac and a weird street poet guy calling himself Scroobius Pip, called "Thou Shalt Always Kill", a funny, clever, poignant, hip, and soon-to-be-terribly-dated rant about a whole slew of things. It's one of those songs that will have a very short shelf life, so watch the video and enjoy it while you can.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
It's 4:30 am, the first night of Junofest is over, and I'm exhausted, so I'd better keep this brief. Or at least succinct. There was a lot of stuff to see on Friday, but in my mind the only place to be was at the Odeon, which hosted quite the energetic four-band bill. Downtown Saskatoon is usually sleepy, but not this weekend as artists, record industry folks, and tourists have overrun the city. Media types everywhere, from TV cameras, to news photographers, to even a film crew. And long lineups at the venues, too. Not a surprise, but a minor inconvenience as I was stuck in the chilly spring night for half an hour. Got in with plenty of time to spare, which was good.
Vancouver's You Say Party! We Say Die! was first. They play this city a lot, so they have a good following, but even they admitted it was weird playing to 1000 people in the packed venue. They made the best of it, too, doing their dance-punk, post-punk thing, sometimes resembling the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, sometimes resembling Hot Hot Heat, resembling Le Tigre a lot of the time. Singer Becky Ninkovic has good charisma, and led the band through a whole bunch of songs, the highlights being "Like I Give a Care", "The Gap", and their signature tune "Cold Hands! Hot Bodies!". The difference between their new stuff and older material is very noticeable. The earlier tunes are highly energetic, almost overbearing, while the new tunes are much more streamlined. I'll have to give the new CD some attention sometime.
next up was Edmonton's ludicrously named dance-punk outfit Shout Out Out Out Out. Or as Brooklynvegan has aptly called them, Shout Out (chk) Out (chk) Out (chk) Out-Hud. Seriously, not an original idea in these six guys' heads, as they do the dance-music-with-instruments thing. Which is all well and good, as they do have a very strong live presence, featuring two drummers and two, sometiumes three bassists, and their extended instrumental jams had the crowd going nuts. The big problem with the band is, there's no leader. !!! has the smarm of Nic Offer. LCD Soundsystem has the acerbic wit of James Murphy. When it comes to lead vocals, all Shout Out Out Out Out (man, do I hate typing that) can come up with is some very lame, hookless vocoder-filtered singing, which gets really old, really fast (not unlike Canadian Daft Punk wannabes MSTRKRFT). They're such an intense band, it's a shame to see songs marred by a tired gimmick. These kids need a singer, badly.
The main reason I was at this show in particular was to see Montreal's Malajube, who is finally touring Wesstern Canada. After the fierce energy of the previous two bands, I was wondering if they'd have trouble sustaining the momentum, but the band proved to be far tighter than I ever expected them to be, making the songs from their last album sound far more intense than they do on record. What was even better was how the crowd took to the Francophone band...there's no language barrier when it comes to fine music, which was proven again on this night. The set included such mighty fine songs as "Montreal -40", "Pate Filo", "Le Crabe", "Fille a Plumes", "Casse-Cou", and a show-stopping performance of the gorgeous "Etienne d'Aout", which amped up the guitars tenfold, making for a crashing, careening climax. Just a tremendous performance. I wouldn't hesitate to see this band again.
I had originally planned on going out to find one last set at a different venue, but recently I started to hear just what Montreal's DJ Champion does in his live show, and thought to myself, I can't miss this. His album Chill 'em All (cute) is an interesting mix of dance, guitar rock, and old African-American protest songs, but he takes the concept several steps further in concert. The set started with just him (real name Maxime Morin) serving up stuttering laptop beats, like any other boring IDM performer, but then, slowly, one by one walked on his five-guitar band, the G-Strings, slowly adding layer upon layer of guitar riffs and basslines on top of the rapidly intensifying beats. They carried on for a good 15 minutes, and it was fine, but then singer Betty Bonifassi (she and Morin worked on the soundtrack to The Triplets of Belleville, interestingly enough) strode onstage and started singing those old blues tunes over the dance/rock backdrop, and what began as a mildly entertaining jam became something absolutely chilling, as Bonifassi screamed and wailed over a massive wall of guitar riffs and a now-thunderous house beat. It was spine-tingling. All the while Morin was conducting his musicians from behind his laptop, signaling crescendoes, breakdowns, and cueing individual guitarists for solos. So you had the rigidity of a DJ set with an amazing sense of spontaneity and improvisation, and it was enthralling. It was an exhausting set of continuous dance beats and jamming, the highlight, fittingly, being the extended performance of hit single "No Heaven". An exhilarating finish to a great night of music. I only wish they had Champion's CD for sale instead of just the remix disc!
So after an afternoon of rest, It's back for night number two later tonight. Must-sees include Novillero, Patrick Watson, and Jets Overhead...I wish I could see Vancouver Stones-revivalists Lions in the Street, as well as In-Flight Safety again, but it's a case of too many bands, too little time. The lineups should be insane at Amigos and the Refinery...I'll post a recap at night's end.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Okay, things have settled just enough for me to post a little update here. First and foremost, my sixteenth column went up on Monday.Yes, that's right, I spent 2500 words talknig about Manowar. How I managed that, I'll never know, but I think the piece turned out alright. As the piece illustrates, I've long struggled with this silly band...there are moments where they sound as invincible as their legions of deluded fans claim, but most of the time, they're some of the laziest songwriters in the world. They treat their fans so very well, but they're so flippin' stupid (the band, not the fans). I continue to be amazed at how popular Manowar is in Germany...their new album (which is TERRIBLE!) debuted at #2 this month. Go figure. Anyway, the next column is all done and should be appearing soon in April, and arrangements for my May column are already underway...it involves a certain famous Finnish band with an affinity towards melodic metal and keytars.
Over at Static, my review of the new Luscious Jackson compilation appeared. it had actually been quite a while since I last listened to their stuff, so this comp was a timely reminder of just how great they were, and how much I loved them back in '94. The tracklisting is not without its flaws, but it's still an essential collection of 90s alt-rock gems. Actually, looking back at my lists of top ten bands and songs that CBC's Brave New Waves introduced me to that I wrote in January, I forgot to mention Luscious Jackson and "Daughters of the KAOS", the stupendous indie track that had me smitten with LJ and had me counting the months and days until the release of Natural Ingredients. Why that song was left off the compilation, I'll never know. Criminal!
Ouch. I actually like this album, contrived as many of the songs admittedly are.
The new Clutch album came out yesterday. You have it, right? If not, you're missing out on one of the finest rock albums of the year so far.. It's been three months since I first heard it, and I'm still not sick of it. "Electric Worry" is one of my favourite singles of 2007. Nice design on the digipak, too...I prefer the tray to the sleeve, but the way it's arranged is cool, it makes for easy access to the disc, instead of forcing us to shake it out, like my horrendously scratched and scuffed Arcade Fire disc.
Friday, March 23, 2007
The Arockalypse is here! That's right, the (sort of) new Lordi album came out this week, and my very positive review went up today. If you don't know the story behind Lordi, I've written all about it in the piece, so I suggest you take a look. Their sudden success last year was stupefying to say the least, I was just baffled when they won Eurovision, and was less than impressed when I heard the winning song, "Hard Rock Hallelujah". I didn't bother downloading the rip of the European release of the album, it just didn't seem worth it. When I went to Sweden, one thing my fellow European writers kept telling me was how huge Lordi was in every country, and how enjoyable the album actually was. During Christmas week, I decided to give the album a try, and whaddya know, I was instantly smitten. Not only is this stuff much catchier than you'll ever expect, but they know their 80s schtick well enough to pass as a bunch of 1985 headbangers. It's a hugely entertaining album, and I strongly suggest you pick it up. I actually got the complete version in the mail this week (making it the third copy I've received, including two promos), and the bonus DVD is very cool, containing promo videos, their triumphant outdoor concert in Helsinki in front of 90,000 (!) people, and a series of documentary snippets about their participation in the whole Eurovision spectacle. You're definitely getting bang for your buck with this!
Speaking of 80s metal, I was reviewing the new Dokken DVD, which is, like, totally awesome, and I found myself blathering on for 1200 words. I tell you, get me going on 80s metal, and I can't shut up. I've become the biggest pop metal apologist...in my review I state that Dokken's dozen or so singles during the 1980s are better as a whole than Motley Crue's dozen or so single from the same period. And I believe it. Dokken was dysfunctional, but they knew their way around a pop hook like no other band at the time. Anyway, the DVD is a total blast.
The latest crop of 33 1/3 books has been announced, and metal is finally getting some respect, as both Slayer's Reign in Blood and Black Sabbath's Master of Reality will be getting the book treatment in the near future. The Sabbath one will be especially cool, as it will be written by the much-loved Mountain Goats frontman, and rabid metal fan, John Darnielle. He's a tremendous writer (if you haven't read his monthly column in Decibel, you must), and his book is sure to be incredible. I'll be waiting anxiously for that one. Out of the other selections, it's really interesting that Pavement's Wowee Zowee was chosen over the more famous Slanted and Enchanted and Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. That album has always been the awkward, underappreciated little sister to the other, more popular two, so it's cool to see it getting some deserved attention.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
The other day my review of Peter Bjorn and John's latest went up over at Static. Like the Dungen album from a couple years ago, it's a bit of a funny situation, in that Writer's Block came out in Europe last year, subsequently becoming a bit of an internet sensation in November and December, but it didn't get a North American release until just last month. I was familiar with the breakthrough single "Young Folks", but it was still growing on me by the time I put together my year-end list, and actually placed outside my top 50. Well, since then, I've come around in a big way...not only is the song a piece of minimalist genius (watch the very cute video here), but the rest fo the album holds up extremely well, so much so, that I couldn't help but give it four stars in my review. It's that good. So now that it qualifies as a 2007 release, and since I didn't put the album on my 2006 list, should I use that convenient loophole for Writer's Block? I don't know...I've done it plenty of timed before, but perhaps it's time to choose a side instead of flip-flopping all the time (being Canadian further complicates things, as we get some albums that aren't released in the US until quite a while later (Lily Allen, for instance). If there's a dearth of great albums come November (I highly doubt it), then maybe.Anyway, read the review, watch the video, and buy the album. It's a gem.
Last week I finally finished Zeth Lundy's 33 1/3 book about Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Life. Zeth edits my column at PopMatters (and is one of the absolute best writers on the site), and is a great guy, so I've been looking forward to this book for the past year, and it pleases me to say that it's every bit as great as I expected it to be. R&B has always been my weakness when it comes to musical knowledge, partially because of where I came from. When you're a kid in rural Saskatchewan, you're not going to hear much soul music! Actually, that's not quite true, as "Sir Duke" was an AM radio staple way back when, but personally, I never felt any real connection to the song, preferring my Mom's old Beatles records. And it didn't help that Wonder put out the insanely popular, highly nauseating "I Just Called to Say I Love You" in 1984 (I remember it was #1 on the Much Music countdown for something like 13 weeks in a row). I guess the real moments when I started to realise there was more to Stevie Wonder than schlocky singles were when Stevie Ray Vaughan covered "Superstition" in 1986 and when the Red Hot Chili Peppers covered "Higher Ground" in 1989, but still, I was terribly ignorant of the guy's music and life story. Talking to Zeth about Wonder last year, he got me into Innervisions, which I loved instantly, and although I found Songs... to be a lengthy mess when I listened to the CD a year ago after getting it from the library, Zeth's book turned out to be a brilliant lesson on a seminal record. Written in his usual studious but easygoing style, Zeth divides the album's 21 tracks into five categories: birth, innocence, experience, death, and transcendence, which is a brilliant idea. Not only does he lucidly delve into the lyrical and musical themes, along with the minute details about each track, but linking them into these sub-themes makes it so much easier to grasp what is one heck of a challenging double album. Without this little book, I would never have realised just how great songs like "Joy Inside My Tears" and "Another Star" are, and it made me rethink my opinion of "Isn't She Lovely" which I'd always dismissed as overly sentimental schmaltz. I was also very unfamiliar with Stevie Wonder's life story, and the book was a real revelation...I knew his basic background, but I never knew what linked the pre-teen Little Stevie Wonder with the 70s R&B innovator. Stuff like how he kept all his songwriting ideas in his head until he turned 21 and his Motown contract expired, and used it as leverage in negotiating a highly lucrative contract, how he nearly died in a freak accident in 1973, and just how hard the dude worked in the 1970s. He earned all those accolades and album sales, but as Zeth so eloquently puts it, his career went through an Orson Welles-like fizzle after Songs..., as if he felt he said all there was to say, each subsequent album a pale imitation. These books are most fun when you listen to each song in-depth as you read, and Songs... is an experience I won't soon forget. It's a great album, and an outstanding book. Highly recommended!
Speaking of Stevie Wonder, I've been noticing just how more and more difficult it is to buy albums by 70s artists these days. Sure, you get those ubiquitous back catalogue sellers that are always going for .99, bands like the Who, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Heart, Black Sabbath, etc., and it's never hard to buy old albums by the Rolling Stones and Kiss, but the original albums by most other bands are being replaced by cheesy compilations. Along with getting into Stevie Wonder, I've been on a real Blue Oyster Cult kick lately, so I've been scouring stores for their older titles, but instead of finding Songs in the Key of Life and Agents of Fortune, I find Stevie Wonder: The Definitive Collection and The Essential Blue Oyster Cult. I actually like Sony's Essential series, they're almost always very well done, but ever since 2000, we've been comp'ed to death, record companies compressing decades-long careers into one or two disc (or in the case of those 20th Century Masters CDs, a measly 45 minutes), just as a means to cash in on folks who just want to hear "Sir Duke" and "Don't Fear the Reaper". It's a sign of the times, I guess. Those old albums are easily available online, but where's the fun in that? It's getting harder and harder to stumble across great finds at record stores these days.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Incredible show tonight, well worth the four-plus hour-long round trip. Down wound up cancelling their entire tour due to Phil Anselmo's severe strep throat (boo), but Megadeth stepped up and delivered a ferocious hour-long set (yay!). It appears heaven and Hell even knocked off a couple songs from their own set to give Megadeth more time.
So finally, after having so many near-misses with Megadeth over the past 21 years (something always kept me from seeing them, whether it was bad timing, distance, ticket snafus, etc.), I got to hear all the classics, plux "Mechanix", which was a massive surprise. Other favourite moments? Nothing specific, it was all great, I was just thrilled at finally seeing the dudes. MegaDave was in good vocal form and was having fun, clearly impressed by the rapturous reception. Here's the setlist:
Sleepwalker
Wake Up Dead
In My Darkest Hour
She-Wolf
Kick the Chair
A Tout Le Monde
Hangar 18
Washington is Next
Symphony of Destruction
Peace Sells
Encore:
Mechanix
Holy Wars
Sabbath was amazing. Egads, Iommi has the comfiest guitar tone I've ever heard. It's not deafening, it's more like enveloping, a real classy, ornate presence. Geezer did that mad plucking he does, Vinny Appice is a giant of a drummer, really minimal but really powerful, and Dio, what a pro. They're so much better off with Dio right now than with Ozzy, it's ridiculous. And you can tell by the looks on their faces, they're clearly enjoying not having to play "Iron Man" for the ten kazillionth time. Highlight of the evening was clearly "Heaven and Hell", which sounded MASSIVE. Dio turned it up several notches vocally, and he did a cool dual personality thing, lit by a single white spotlight from above, lit by a red stage light from below, playing up the whole heaven & hell thing. It was brilliant. Other memorable tunes were "Voodoo", "Sign of the Southern Cross", "Die Young", and "Neon Knights". Even though two songs were sut from the set, I was happy, Megadeth played for longer, and Heaven and Hell played for a good length of time, seeing as I was getting pretty darn tired in my old age. I'm so glad I was able to see such an unreal show. Here's the setlist:
E5150
After All (The Dead)
The Mob Rules
Children of the Sea
Lady Evil
I
Sign of the Southern Cross
Voodoo
The Devil Cried
Vinny Appice Solo
Computer God
Falling Off the Edge of the World
Shadow of the Wind
Die Young
Heaven and Hell
Encore:
Neon Knights
Oh, and I was able to finally make a trip to Smokin' Okies, the only true, authentic barbecue joint in Saskatchewan. Great food, I tell you what. And the biggest wood smoker I've ever seen.
Well, time to call it a night and recuperate...I've got a ton of writing to to in the next two days.
Friday, March 16, 2007
So much to talk about, so little time. So I'll keep it as brief as possible.
First, my review of the outstanding new Jesu album appeared yesterday. I thought Jesu's first full-length was decent, and I loved last year's Silver EP, but I'm especially smitten with Conqueror. Justin Broadrick seems to be mellowing with age (which in my opinion is a good thing..."Stanlow" being a prime example)), but he's still got plenty of fresh ideas, as he's getting more mileage out of this "shoegaze metal" than anyone else right now. This is the kind of album that I expect to grow on me even more as the year goes on. I also recommend reading what Cosmo Lee wrote on Invisible Oranges, as he presents a valid "con" argument. I remain staunchly "pro", though.
You're supposed to pronounce Jesu "yay-zu", but I still have the bad habit of calling them "jezzu". Can't seem to shake it.
And speaking of this bugeoning meta/shoegaze hybrid, the French band Alcest sounds very promising. Think Agalloch meets Slowdive, with a girl singing instead of a guy growling. Their new album comes out this summer, and I'll be all over that whenever it becomes available.
The Junofest schedule is out, so my weekend in a fortnight is starting to look a little clearer. Seems I'll be ensconced at the Odeon on Friday (which I expect to be packed) to catch Malajube, and then dashing between venues on Broadway the next night (looks like Patrick Watson's the one to see on Saturday).
I missed the FedEx guy at the door yesterday morning, so I had to drive to the depot near the airport to get the package. When I saw the contents, I thought, oh brother, but I ended up enjoying it immensely, watching all two hours in one sitting. I'll write more about it after the weekend.
Lastly, today's the day of the big concert in Regina. Not only is it the first show I've gone to in ages (four months, I figure), but it'll be the first time I'll have visited the Agridome or whatever they call it now in nearly exactly 20 years. Last time I was there, I saw Iron Maiden for the first and only time. Anyway, I'm hugely looking forward to seeing Heaven & Hell and Megadeth...Down appears to be 50/50, as Anselmo is apparently still recuperating, but it would be nice to see those guys, too. Expect the usual detailed recap late tonight!
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Down was forced to cancel their appearance in Edmonton last night, as Anselmo had the flu, but while Megadeth treated the crowd to an expanded set, it would be great if the dude gets healthy enough to make an appearance on Friday. Some children weren't exactly thrilled with Down's absence, which I found rather amusing.
Well, it's that time of the month, as Decibel's site has been all updated for March, which meand a pile of new reviews for yours truly to plug here. Best of the bunch is the new disc by gothic chamber band Amber Asylum, an album I found very entrancing, one that slowly altered the mood as it went on I made a bit of a flub in the review, saying that Kris Force sings on "Black Phoebe", when in fact Lorraine rath handles lead vocals on the track. Either way, it's a lovely, haunting CD (its release was delayed for a while there, but is set to come out really soon now), sure to appeal to anyone anyone who appreciates the darker side of avant-garde music.
Other reviews include my piece on the new Destruction, on which the German thrash greats re-record their old classics, and pull off the unthinkable by actually topping the originals (the first time I've seen such a gimmick work so well). Then there's the new Firewind album, a collection of old school power metal tunes courtesy Greek guitar prodigy Gus G. At first I was lukewarm towards it, thinking it's just Century Media hoppnig on the DragonForce bandwagon, but the band brings more than the usual hyperkinetic "extreme power metal"...there's actually some subtlety every once in a while, not to mentaion a killer goth-tinged tune called "Breaking the Silence" (in amv format). Laethora is a side priject featuring members of Dark Tranquillity and Provenance, and their debut album is shockingly good melodic death metal...so good in fact,t hat I think the new Dark Tranquillity CD (hope to be getting that one soon) will be hard pressed to top this one. Lastly, there's the new one by New Hampshire metalcore dudes Since the Flood, which is likeable enough, maybe a bit too similar to Hatebreed, but not without a surprising moment or two.
I actually managed to listen to a fair bit of hip hop last year, but aside from Peeping Tom, J Dilla's Donuts and maybe Lupe Fiasco (I have to get that Clipse album sometime), I had a hard time finding an album that I could really get into. I tend to prefer the really bold stuff, the kind of hip hop that comes in from way out in left field, something that's both musically sharp and lyrically clever (a huge reason why I loved Madvillain a couple years ago). Thank goodness for Dalek, whose brand new album Abandoned Language is amazing. Their last one (hmm, I like how that review turned out, in retrospect) was extremely abrasive, but the sounds here are much richer, more sedate, but still plenty dark, best exemplified by the creepy (and appropriately titled) instrumental track "Lynch". Easily one of the better albums I've heard this year so far...you can sample some tracks here.
Edit 12 hours later: so I was flipping through the nicely-designed CD booklet for the Dalek album, and while I was admiring its photography and whatnot, I was still wishing that the lyrics had been provided instead of all those blurry collages. It wasn't until I caught a glimpse of a page in the sunlight that I noticed something ingenious...the lyrics are embossed over the photos! It's really difficult to read, but that's probably the point of it all, I guess in keeping with the whole "subversive script" idea. Anyway, bravo, guys.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
My review of the new Fu Manchu album is up today. I've been a fan of Fu since, what, the late-90s I guess, when I first heard "Module Overload" on DirecTV's metal channel (why the heck Galaxie doesn't have a metal channel is beyond me). I've always liked the fact that the band has been able to take such a straightforward formula and carve out a very respectable career. We Must Obey is their tenth (!!!) album, and after their last one, which was admirable but kind of unfocused, the new CD has a lot more energy to it, more ferocity than we've heard from the guys in many years. King of the Road remains my favourite Fu album, and "Squash That Fly" is easily their best song, but there's still plenty of stuff to get excited about on this record, namely the very bold cover of the Cars' "Moving in Stereo", which could have been a disaster in the making, but Scott Hill and his band do it just right, keeping things minimal, yet retaining the band's trademark monolithic sound. So read the review, download the MP3 at the bottom of the page, and try the rest of the CD out, it's a good one.
It took me years, but I've finally caught on to RSS feeds, and now I'm addicted. It's a great way to keep track of your favourite blogs, which leads me to one that I've been reading since the start of the year, and which has quickly become one of the finest blogs out there. The scarily talented Andrew Unterberger is one of the most finest young pop culture writers on the internet right now, and his Stylus-hosted blog Intensities in Ten Suburbs is fantastic, touching on music, TV, movies, and anything else pop culture-related, and doing so with tremendous wit, creativity, and smarts. His entry today is a good indication of the dude's cleverness, as he's assembled the ten best dialogue exchanges from the movie Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang. Which is an absolute killer movie by the way. And I do agree it ranks right up there with The Big Lebowski, as far as action and humour goes. So utilize your RSS thingy, subscribe to Andrew's blog, and check it out whenever that sucker's updated. It's never dull.
And to totally contradict myself, I won't be putting in an RSS feed on this page. I have no flippin' idea how to do it!
The new Arctic Monkeys single, the cheekily-titled "Brianstorm", is excellent. Typical for this band, but really tightly wound, one of those songs that I love to describe as "tetchy". 171 crazy seconds that John Sakamoto describes as, "Bad Brains having their way with Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song". Which isn't that far off. Their hastily-recorded new disc just might be a good one. Stay tuned.
As you might know, I'm a total sucker for European Goth Metal Sung By Women, and the new single by Holland's After Forever does not disappoint. Floor Jansen has a phenomenal voice, able to go nuts with the operatic arias, but also very, very good at accessible pop rock, and the latter style is stressed on "Energize Me" (here's the video), a song that boldly attempts to steal Nightwish's title as the standard bearer for sumptuous EuroSymphonicGoth. Grabs me the same way that "Nemo" did three years ago. And somewhere, an advertising exec drools over the marketing possibilities...
Sunday's first Heaven & Hell show in Vancouver drew rapturous reviews of all three bands, which bodes well for Friday. I'll be posting my usual wordy recap, and my April column will also centre around the big event. That one will be fun to write.
Monday, March 12, 2007
"Dance punk" might have reached the zenith of its coolness three years ago (or perhaps before that), but two of the best bands from the movement are still going strong, and while their new albums leaked back in late December, I've only had the chance to give them a listen. It pleases me immensely to say that not only has !!! and LCD Soundsystem proven that their brand of organic dance/funk is far from stale, but they've managed to put out two of the finest records of this young year. So with one already out, and the other in stores on Tuesday, which album is better?
I'll admit, I had !!! written off, or at the very least, just stopped caring. Their 2003 songle "Me & Giuliani Down By the Schoolyard" was phenomenal (placing at #5 on my best songs list from that year), an epic piece that veered from funk to Madchester over the course of nine minutes, one that I would even say ranks as one of the best singles of the decade so far. The hotly anticipated 2004 album Louden Up Now, however, failed to impress me, sounding tepid compared to that one glorious single, and even more annoyingly, they tacked "Giuliani" onto the album, as if they couldn't come up with anything worth filling out the record in a year. Their Magnetic Fields cover a year later redeemed themselves somewhat in my eyes, but I had pretty much zero expectations regaring their new album Myth Takes. So you could probably picture my shock when the new album turned out to be sensational. !!! has always been an act that excels at the more visceral, energetic side of this kins of music, and Myth Takes spares nothing, clobbering us with 44 crazed minutes of funk rhythms, house beats, and ultra-catchy hooks. The first five tracks are especially amazing: : you've got the wonky spaghetti western tones of the title track which then segues right into the percussive, incendiary funk of "All My Heroes are Weirdoes", the pulse-pounding house beats of the self-deprecating "Must Be the Moon", the dub-infused "A New Name", and if that weren't enough, the wickedly catchy diva refrain of "Heart of Hearts" (video here), which is already a contender for my 2007 singles list. "Yadnus" is a really cool blend of funk and glam rock (with that T. Rex shuffle), while "Bend Over Beethoven" is the kind of Happy Mondays-meets-Talking Heads jam we've come to expect from these guys. The only real flaw is "Sweet Life" which is way too close to the Chili Peppers' lazy dreck. The production by bassist John Van Der Volgen is excellent, and smarmy singer Nic Offer actually tones down on his hipster affectations in favour of some real, genuine, convincing singing. A really lively album, one that was an absolute joy to listen to this past weekend.
LCD Soundsystem's Sound of Silver is something different altogether, far more diverse, and not quite as instantly gratifying. The osngs are just as catchy and infused with the kind of energy that gets a room moving, but as opposed to !!!'s flamboyance, Sound of Silver, like the fantastic debut album, settles into lengthy grooves. "Us v Them" is the kind of thing we've come to expect from the band (8 minutes of disco grooves and cowbells), but there are a lot more surprises here than on the first CD. The lovely "Someone Great" is flat-out electro, "Watch the Tapes" is quick, bouncy pop, "New York I Love You" is a surprising turn toward banal balladry (yet still possessing James Murphy's distinctive wit), and the title track is more brooding than propulsive. Speaking of brooding, "Get Innocuous" reminds me a lot of Junior Boys, with its strong Depeche Mode vibe. Two songs really stand out...lead single "North American Scum" (video here) is both hilarious and incessant, with some very perceptive observations by Murphy, who warns non-North Americans not to judge us by our governments: "H hate the feelin' when you're looking at me that way cause we're North Americans / But if we act all shy, it’ll make it OK / makes it go away." Much different is "All My Friends", a great seven and a half minute track that sounds equal parts New Order and the Strokes, a song that doesn't exactly climax, but simply glides along on cruise control, nestled in a tidy little motorik groove, driven by continuous eighth notes pounded on a piano. Is ther eanything better than such phenomenal singles as "Losing My Edge" and "Yeah"? It's hard to say, but probably not. Still, that's no reason to discount this collection of tunes, which holds up very well against the first full-length, which I really loved two years ago.
As for which new album is better, it's actually a tough choice. !!! is audacious, yet has one track I can't stand. LCD is on a more even keel, but doesn't have the same kind of euphoric moments. I'll probably have a better answer in four months, when I do my mid-year recap!
Friday, March 9, 2007
One week until Heaven and Hell, Megadeth, and Down. Hoo, boy. I can't stop playing "Voodoo"...that's going to be one of the real highlights of the evening, that's for sure.
It's been slow gonig on this page because I've been a little preoccupied this week with interviews, reviews, and a freelance project that's taking a bit longer than I expected. The interview in question was a cool one, as I talked to Mike Amott from Arch Enemy yesterday afternoon. It's for a Decibel piece that's going to be in the June issue, so I won't spill the beans quite yet, but I will say that if you preferred Wages of Sin to Doomsday Machine, you had better brace yourself for the new album, which will hopefully be out in the fall.
My review of the new Apostle of Hustle album is up at Static. There's a CD that's grown on me nicely over the last couple months...there have been gripes that it's not as fluid an album as Folkloric Feel, but personally, I like its eccentricity, it reminds me of how fun their live show is, somethnig that didn't exactly translate onto the previous record. It'd be great if Whiteman & co. came out here again.
Bit of nice timing with the big concert happening next week, as Megadeth's new concert DVD That One Night: Live in Buenos Aires came out on Tuesday, and happened to be going for supercheap (under ten bucks) at a certain Canadian electronics chain. It's a no-frills release, just the concert, no extras (not even a booklet), but the concert itself is excellent. I've stated in the past that it should be a rule that metal/hard rock bands have to film live DVDs in South America, and the crowd from the October, 2005 Argentina concert proves why yet again. They are absolutely batty for Megadeth, even going so far as to sing along with the guitar riffs. The band does a fairly standard greatest-hits set (all the classics, save for "Sweating Bullets", which I hope they will pull out in seven days), but it climaxes with "Symphony of Destruction", which has everyone singing along with the main riff, chanting in perfect time, "MEGA-DETH, MEGA-DETH, AGUANTE MEGA-DETH!!!" It is spine-tingling, like nothing you will ever see or hear...and you can see (and hear) it here.
The concert announcements are starting to pick up around here, and Saskatoon finally got a gem in the form of Dinosaur Jr., who are playing here in late May. That's one that I cannot afford to miss.
Friday, March 2, 2007
My review of the new Arcade Fire album is up today. I spent far too much time mulling over the rating I'd give it, but in the end, I chose 7 instead of 8, mainly because of a few lyrical shortcomings that, while not ruining a very good album by any stretch, nevertheless sounded somewhat trite at times. Folks might think that because I gave it a 7 I'm backlashing, but while I found a few minor flaws (the timing of "No Cars Go" is perfect but thematically it has no business being on the CD), I still like the album a whole lot, and I wouldn't be surprised if it popped up on my year-end list somewhere. It just won't be in the top ten, that's all. It's a very worthy follow-up, it proves the success of Funeral was no fluke, and is well worth buying on Tuesday. It sure would be nice if they came back to Western Canada in the fall...
My review of the re-release of Between the Buried and Me's excellent The Silent Circus appeared yesterday. I find the band to be one of the most wildly creative metal acts out there, and this album was the first one to show just what BTBAM is capable of. Not only does it rival the technicality of the Dillinger Escape Plan, but some shockingly beautiful melodies appear from out of nowhere; their versatility is staggering, and I'm hoping their next album (which they're apparently recording) has just as many surprises (or even more) than their last two CDs.
The new Feist album leaked yesterday, and big surprise, it's fantastic, sounding more adventurous than Let it Die, but plenty accessible enough to sell really well when it comes out in April. I still can't believe no Saskatoon date has been booked on her upcoming Canadian tour...there are three days between the Calgary and Regina dates, so I'm hoping something here is booked. It would be awful if we had to miss out on an appearance by the lady.
Speaking of exciting concert announcements, somebody in Regina is doing a great job booking shows. Not only are they trouncing Saskatoon in the concert department this year, but they've managed to land the big Lacuna Coil/The Gathering tour. If there was one band I was convinced I'd never get a chance to see in my lifetime, it's The Gathering (one of my favourite bands in the world today), so the fact they're coming out here is miraculous. Lacuna Coil is headlining, which is fine by me. Just as long as I get to see and hear Anneke in person. The other two bands, Stolen Babies and In This Moment, are also exceptionally talented (and led by female singers), so this is just a phenomenal bill. May 23 is already marked on my calendar.
When it was announced that Saskatoon would host the 2007 Juno Awards, I couldn't care less about the actual show...we all know what a farce that spectacle is. The real excitement, however, was all about JunoFest, the weekend-long Canadian music extravaganza that would consume the entire city, sort of like our own teenyweeny version of South By Southwest. The first announcement regarding the fest was made the other day, and while it appears to be on a much smaller scale than Halifax last year, it looks good so far, the one band I'm glad to see confirmed so far being Malajube. There are a few more I'd like to see (In-Flight Safety among them), and a few duds (David Usher? He's alive?), and apparently there are still some acts that will be added. Anyway, wristbands go onsale on Saturday, and I'll probably be picking one up.
Had a fun little haul of new CDs on Thursday, including the new Luscious Jackson comp (which reminds me of just how much I adored that band 13 years ago), the excellent new Apostle of Hustle album, which I raved about in January, the lovable CD by Peter Bjorn & John, and if that wasn't enough, a pair of killer Blue Oyster Cult reissues. I've had BOC on the brain constantly over the past couple days, looking into their other old albums and playing "Godzilla" constantly, both on the CD player and on Guitar Hero. Such an incessant, rifferific tune..."Oh no, there goes Tokyo...Go, go, Godzilla!!!" More on these albums this month...
Is there any show on television right now that's better than the BBC's Life on Mars? The answer, a resounding no. The second and final season, which has just started airing in Canada, is off to a blazing start, so the next seven should be incredible.
